.NET Code Signing Pricing

Question

I am looking into options for code signing our company's application, and it seems there are several different providers such as:

• VeriSign
• Thawte
• Comodo
• GoDaddy

Are there pros and cons for each provider, or are they all basically the same and I should use the one with the cheapest price? My end goal is to have my application known as a trusted provider so that we can do stand-alone user updates without UAC prompts.

NOTE: I know there is already a question about Code Signing Options on StackOverflow, but I believe this question is a little different.

EDIT: Expanded list of options, as mentioned below in the comments.

Answer 1

At the end of the day it doesn't really matter.

So, pick one that meets your price / reputation needs. Personally, I'd go with the cheapest option as the three you mentioned have been around a very long time.

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UPDATE:

No additional software is required. Adoption rate isn't really important (and you'll never find that information anyway). Instead, the reputation of those companies is very good, and that's the part that matters.

When evaluating key generation companies, you want to know how long have they been in business, and, if they have ever lost a key or been hacked.

Answer 2

I don't know how everyone feels about their reputation, but GoDaddy also offers code signing certificates, and they appear to be significantly less expensive than the other options.

Answer 3

If you're releasing a commercial app and have an interest in getting reports from user crashes in the field you should look into whether Windows Error Reporting (WER) would be of use to you. Using WER requires a Verisign certificate.

("Windows Error Reporting (WER) is a set of Windows technologies that capture software crash data and support end-user reporting of crash information. Through Winqual services, software and hardware vendors can access reports in order to analyze and respond to these problems. WER technologies are implemented in Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and later.")